Bossypants by Tina Fey

In recent years, I have started reading more and more biographies. Interestingly enough, most of them, if not all of them, have been autobiographies or memoirs. One of those autobiographies that has been sitting on my book shelf for quite some time now, was Bossypants by Tina Fey. Tina Fey is a comedienne, writer and actress, who is most famous for 30 Rock, Saturday Night Life and for giving us Mean Girls.

I didn’t know much about Fey’s life beforehand apart from the occasional interview, that I caught on YouTube. It was fascinating to learn more about her life, especially her childhood and teenage years. Fey is pretty open about the fact that she was a late bloomer in some regards. While her physical development started very early, around age ten, she only became sexually active in her mid twenties. It is really refreshing to hear someone talk about this topic so honestly. Especially since it is kind of a taboo topic, that people will judge you about whether you started too early or too late.

Sidenote: Is there even a right age to start having sex? Personally, I don’t think that is the case, since it always depends on the person and individual situation. But feel free to discuss this in the comments, I would really love to hear your opinions about this topic.

Another big and interesting topic in the book, especially as a woman, are Fey’s views on being a boss and how differently you are approached about this topic when you happen to be a woman. She talks about the things she learned from her SNL boss Lorne Michaels and what kind of boss she is on 30 Rock. Being a comedienne, Fey is very humorous about the questions she has been asked by reporters and how the comedy scene in general has treated women. I loved her take on these things as she is an outspoken feminist and simply believes that when hiring someone, you should only look at how talented they are and how well they fit into your team. Nevermind their gender.

Another topic that Fey talks about in a humorous, yet serious way, is the topic of breast feeding and how women seem to shame each other, when someone is not breast feeding for whatever reason. I really enjoyed all the anecdotes about Fey’s family and how ‘normal’ her life seems, even though she is a TV star with a crazy schedule.

All in all, I can only recommend reading this book. A few hours spent laughing and nodding along with Tina Fey. If you, like me, love watching interviews with Fey or enjoy her and Amy Poehler’s Golden Globe’s monologues every now and again, then this book is for you. Have you read Bossypants before? What did you think about the book? Let me know in the comments.